The map shows quakes of M1.5 and up from the last 90 days, the 8 biggest on record, and always the very latest quake — even if it was smaller than M1.5. The list below can include smaller ones the map leaves out. Tap any dot for details.
In the last 30 days, 8 earthquakes of M1.5 or bigger were recorded within 100 km of Gridley, the biggest of them M2.8. Over the past year, M3.0+ quakes near Gridley came at 2.6× the usual pace — busier than normal for this area. The biggest quake on record near Gridley — records go back to 1980 — was the M5.1 of Aug 10, 2016, 02:57 UTC: 20 km NNE of Upper Lake, California.
How we figure this: 5 quakes of M3.0 or bigger within 100 km in the last 12 months (Nov 04, 2025 – Nov 04, 2026), compared with an average of 1.9 a year across the full calendar years 2016–2025, counted the same way. This compares how often quakes happened in two past periods. It is not a forecast, and it does not mean a big earthquake is on its way — nobody can predict earthquakes.
Does a busier spell mean a bigger earthquake is coming?
Short answer: nobody can tell — and a busier spell by itself is not a warning sign. Bunches of small quakes are common around Gridley, and most settle down on their own. Small quakes also do not “let off steam” that would prevent a big one: a single M7 releases roughly as much energy as 32,000 M4 quakes added together. Earthquakes cannot be predicted. What can be measured is the long-term pattern — the biggest quakes on record near Gridley are listed further down this page.
Latest earthquakes near Gridley
| Mag | Location | Local time | Depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M2.8 | 8 km E of Lower Lake, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 01:02 PM | 7 km | 88 km SW |
| M2.2 | 7 km ESE of Lower Lake, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 12:59 PM | 5 km | 89 km SW |
| M1.5 | 8 km ESE of Lower Lake, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 12:58 PM | 2 km | 89 km SW |
| M2.1 | 7 km ESE of Lower Lake, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 12:35 PM | 5 km | 89 km SW |
| M2.5 | 8 km E of Lower Lake, CA | Nov 02, 2026, 12:34 PM | 1 km | 87 km SW |
| M1.8 | 17 km ESE of Lake Pillsbury, CA | Oct 24, 2026, 10:03 PM | 9 km | 94 km W |
| M2.3 | 17 km SE of Lake Pillsbury, CA | Oct 24, 2026, 05:13 PM | 7 km | 95 km W |
| M1.4 | 12 km NNE of Angwin, CA | Oct 21, 2026, 10:58 PM | 10 km | 97 km SW |
| M0.8 | 2 km SW of Hidden Valley Lake, CA | Oct 18, 2026, 07:28 PM | 6 km | 99 km SW |
| M2.3 | 9 km N of Belden, CA | Oct 13, 2026, 06:11 AM | 10 km | 88 km NNE |
Earthquakes per year near Gridley (M3.0 and up, within 100 km)
M3.0–3.9 M4.0+
Each bar is one year; taller means more quakes (M3.0 and up). The dark red part is the bigger ones (M4.0+), counted inside the number above each bar — not added on top. These may be felt, depending on how far away and how deep they are. 2026 is not a full year yet — it only counts up to today. Source: USGS Earthquake Catalog.
What the last year looked like near Gridley
Every quake of M1.5 or bigger within 100 km over the last year — 108 in total. A quake of exactly M2.0 counts in the M2.0–3.0 group.
The 8 biggest earthquakes on record near Gridley (M4.0 and up, since 1980)
| Mag | Location | Date (UTC) | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| M5.1 | 20 km NNE of Upper Lake, California | Aug 10, 2016, 02:57 UTC | 95 km |
| M4.6 | 10 km SSE of Sierra City, California | Dec 28, 1985, 19:01 UTC | 98 km |
| M4.5 | 3 km NE of East Quincy, California | Dec 26, 2008, 12:19 UTC | 97 km |
| M4.4 | 6 km NW of Belden, CA | Apr 05, 2024, 01:34 UTC | 82 km |
| M4.4 | 3 km ENE of East Quincy, California | Nov 05, 1997, 17:49 UTC | 96 km |
| M4.3 | 11 km ENE of Clearlake, California | Sep 24, 1984, 14:40 UTC | 81 km |
| M4.3 | 4 km SW of Graeagle, California | Oct 21, 1998, 08:31 UTC | 99 km |
| M4.2 | 5km S of Oroville East, CA | Jul 23, 2022, 01:41 UTC | 22 km |
Nearby places
Biggs, CA (6 km) · Live Oak, CA (10 km) · Palermo, CA (16 km) · Chico, CA (42 km) · Yuba City, CA (26 km) · Paradise, CA (44 km)
USGS data fetched Nov 04, 2026, 02:24 UTC · page built Nov 04, 2026, 02:24 UTC. How to read this page: recent-window counts cover M1.5+ events within 100 km, measured from the center of the place, not the city limits; the 10-year layer is based on M3.0+ and the history layer on M4.0+ since 1980. Recording completeness varies by era and region — small quakes from early decades are under-recorded, so “no record” does not prove “never happened”. Depths are relative to sea level and can be slightly negative for shallow events in elevated terrain. Method: data & methodology.